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Sin City is home to a lot of restaurants and bars, but there are tons of hidden gems that the majority of Las Vegans aren't unearthing. To help guide us to these potential discoveries, we've enlisted some of our city's food players to share their recommendations for a weekly feature dubbed Dining Confidential. Know a chef who wants to share some top dining spots? The tipline is open.
At the end of the month, more than 50 chefs from 60-plus restaurants are taking over Downtown Las Vegas for Life Is Beautiful, the music and food festival. And Kate Neuhaus is responsible for each. The head of culinary programming for Life is Beautiful came from New York, working as the head of special projects for Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors, and worked at the Food Network's New York City Wine & Food Festival. She has also worked on the top culinary events in New York City including, the James Beard Awards, Chefs' Night Out, Meatopia, Cochon 555, and South Beach Wine & Food Festival. Here she dishes on three of her favorite restaurants that she’s discovered since moving to Las Vegas.
Which Vegas restaurants do you turn to when you’re not working on Life is Beautiful?
1. Due Forni
2. Fleur by Hubert Keller
3. The D Grill
What dishes are most memorable?
At Due Forni, one of my favorite dishes is the self-named "Due Forni" pizza (San Marzano tomato, bufala mozzarella, house-made sausage, bacon, and piquillo peppers) with a Neapolitan crust is a perfect combination of flavor, fat, and heat. The Neapolitan crust does the best job of soaking up all of the delicious fat that renders off of the meat as it cooks and the spice level elevates this pizza to crave-worthy.
Don't hate me, but my favorite dish at Fleur by Hubert Keller is not available on the regular menu (yet). It is a perfect bitter dark chocolate soufflé with hot chocolate syrup poured on top and homemade Oreo ice cream on the side. Find chef Lupe and ask, no beg, him to make it for you.
The burger at The D Grill is everything you want in a burger. They use Pat LaFrieda meat (also used at Shake Shack and Gordon Ramsey Steak), which is bar none the best quality, and tasting meat around. I get no toppings on my burger so that the flavor and texture of the meat shines.
Why do you enjoy going there?
Besides always having the possibility of spotting Carrot Top at Due Forni, the wine selection is thoughtful and the atmosphere has the perfect feeling of a special night out and a neighborhood joint.
The service at Fleur by Hubert Keller is attentive without being stuffy and the breadth of menu items makes it satisfying no matter what you are in the mood for.
At The D Grill … did I mention the burger?
